


she held me spellbound in the night

by jarpadsalecki



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Happy Ending, Harry Is a Witch, Humor, M/M, Magic, Magical Realism, Pining, Warlocks, Witchcraft, Witches, cisgirl!narry, louis is on holiday, niall and liam are normal, reddit is honestly the primary agent in all of this, zayn is a cat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 03:41:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17675783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jarpadsalecki/pseuds/jarpadsalecki
Summary: Niall gets hexed. Through serendipity, dumb luck and the power of Reddit, she finds a witch named Harry who fixes it for her. After they meet, an enamored Niall starts making up fake magical problems as an excuse to see Harry again. Hijinks ensue. Also, Zayn is a cat.





	she held me spellbound in the night

**Author's Note:**

> hellooooo!! this is my first fic in 3 years wow
> 
> i did VERY BRIEF research on witches and the small tidbits about the midrash--please inform me if anything i portray about this is offensive! i am by no means an expert or educated on any of this, it's all for fun
> 
> special thanks to: the narry gc for helping me brainstorm, esp shirley who did the moodboard for the tumblr post, and to justine for her kind words of encouragement n support!!!
> 
> DISCLAIMER: this is purely fiction, i don't own any of the characters/brands named here, it's all fake, etc.

Niall has a problem.

To be specific, it’s several problems:

Her alarm never goes off when it’s supposed to. One might say, oh Niall, you’re just forgetting to set the alarm! You’re shutting it off instead of hitting snooze! These are plausible, _however_ , the problem is not that the alarm is not going off at all--oh, it sure is, but at random intervals in the middle of the night, having Niall searching blindly in the sheets for her blaring phone only to find it hidden inside her bookcase, or behind her door. 

The electricity cuts out. Hours after she pays her bill. She didn’t think anything of it until the lights every so often flicker to the beat of “Eye of the Tiger” and then shut off completely in the _middle_ of her second rewatch of _Rupaul’s Drag Race_.

Everyone loses their keys from time to time. However, Niall doesn’t suppose she should be finding them in her freezer, in her bathtub, or behind the TV.

Her pillows are never the right temperature. This may just be a normal life thing, but in situations like these, Niall can’t be too cautious.

So, to solve this, she turns to her single most trustworthy, wisened and illustrious guide for when life deals its most mystifying cards:

Reddit.

She searches threads upon threads, subreddits upon subreddits, gets sucked into a YouTube hole twice, and nearly gives up before one particular thread gives her pause.

_Have you ever met a real-life witch?_

“A real-life witch,” Niall murmurs to herself, hunched over in her bed, legs tangled in the sheets. She eagerly reads on.

_....I figured out my neighbor was a witch when I noticed her garden flourishing in the middle of winter, no one’s thumbs are that green....._

_...the barista at my favorite Starbucks never has a bad customer, not once. I sit in the corner and watch various pissed off people come in, just to melt into a smile as soon as they make eye contact with her. The one time that it didn’t happen, she wasn’t wearing that necklace she’s always wearing......_

_....is my girlfriend a witch? Sometimes when she enters a room it smells like burning sage......._

_....they’re always beautiful in ways you can’t quite describe, they’ve usually got some kind of unique jewelry on, they’re partial to tattoos and tend to have long hair, they dress quirky, like they’re not exactly sure how modern fashion is supposed to work, they keep to themselves...._

“You sure that’s not just gay women you’re describing,” Niall mutters, now rolled over onto her stomach with her feet kicking into the air. She scrolls quickly, unsatisfied until she lands on one particular reply with 706 upvotes.

_....if you’re clever enough to spot one in real life, they might be able to help you with something that’s ailing you...._

Come to think of it...there is this one girl in one of Niall’s lectures who, _lowkey_ , fits these descriptions. She’s long-haired, brown curls often done up in a bun, with loads of tattoos on her arms. She certainly dresses quirky--Niall has caught herself staring at the floral-print shirts she barely buttons up past her navel, and her shoes are always sparkly in some form or another. She’s often wearing dangly, pirate-like earrings, too--maybe a protective charm?

Niall’s never been one to believe in cryptids and the supernatural and all that. But she has been one to firmly believe in the prophecies and premonitions of the sacred Reddit, so she catches sight of one curly-haired back of head after lecture one day and rushes ahead.

“Hey, you’re Harry, right?” she asks, reaching to tap the girl on the shoulder. Right before she makes contact, the girl flinches away from Niall’s hand before whirling around to face her.

She doesn’t look shocked, merely apprehensive. “Yes,” she says, voice deeper than Niall had anticipated. “Do I know you?”

Niall gulps, tucking some of her cropped blonde hair behind her ear. “Uh, sort of? I sit a few rows behind you in lecture--um, your presentation about Amelia Earhart was cool, by the way.”

Harry gives a brief once-over then nods once. “Thanks.”

She starts to walk away, but oh no, Niall’s not done yet. She reaches out and touches her arm to stop her. Harry looks down at her hand incredulously before meeting Niall’s eyes with terrifyingly arched eyebrows. “Uh--okay, this is gonna sound crazy, right? But I saw this thread on Reddit, and--”

“What is...Reddit?” Harry interrupts, cocking her head curiously. It’s...surprisingly cute.

“Oh,” Niall blinks. “It’s, like, a website? People post like, weird creepy stories or funny memes, or talk about TV shows, stuff like that.”

“Memes,” Harry repeats, nodding dazedly. “Right. I knew that.”

She takes off again, Niall resolving to try and keep up as Harry weaves in and out of small crowds in the hallway. “Anyway, so I was reading this thread and a bunch of people were talking about how they knew, like, _witches_ in real life, and please don’t be offended but, you kind of super duper fit the bill?” Niall chuckles nervously. “Y’know, with the long hair, and the tattoos, and the clothes--which are super cool by the way, where do you--”

At once, Harry’s turning around and grabbing Niall tightly by the arm, careening her over to the edge of the hallway, away from passerby. “Ow, you don’t have to--”

“Listen to me very carefully,” Niall is stopped short by the ferocity of Harry’s green (and not at _all_ pretty) eyes, her voice calm and low but edged with trepidation. “Please don’t speak to me about this again. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

She releases Niall’s arm and continues her trek down the hallway, hoisting her bag over her shoulder. That’s funny, Niall hadn’t noticed her having a bag before. She shakes a few flyaway hairs out of her face and, probably against her better judgment, catches up with Harry.

“Okay, you saying all that definitely isn’t helping me think you’re _not_ a,” Niall lowers her voice to a whisper, “witch. Please, I need your help--”

Harry holds up one hand as she speeds up, trying to swat Niall away. “No, you don’t!”

“Yes, I do!” Niall frowns. “And, come to think of it--you _do_ kinda smell like sage!”

“No, I don’t!”

“Yes, you do--and I bet your earrings are protecting you from some evil...wizard! Plus, they’re super cute!” Niall says, angrier than she meant to. She comes to a realization. “You didn’t even know what Reddit was!”

“Oh, look!” Harry says, whipping around and pointing somewhere past Niall’s shoulder. “Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett’s here, and it looks like she’s dropped her lipstick!”

“Oh my god, where--” Niall, sweet Niall whirls around, scanning the crowd of students for Academy Award-winning actress Cate Blanchett. It takes her three seconds to realize her mistake, which is three seconds too long, and when she turns back around, Harry has disappeared. _Into thin air_ , Niall’s brain supplies.

Although, as Niall stands alone in the hallway, students and professors alike brushing past as they hurry to their meetings, or lectures, or coffee breaks, she starts to wonder if maybe she’s taken Reddit a little too seriously this time.

**

When she gets back home, all of her lampshades are flipped upside down.

**

Niall doesn’t see Harry again for a few days. She doesn’t show up to their next lecture, and Niall’s more than sure that it’s because of her. 

Cornering a stranger after class and accusing her of being a secret witch probably wasn’t Niall’s best and brightest idea yet. In her defense, this is mostly why she keeps Louis around, but he’s off on holiday with his girlfriend and their families. In a situation like this where she’s left to her own devices, Niall’s doing the best she can.

Still, she’s probably freaked Harry out, which is a shame because Harry’s actually quite beautiful, and Niall would be a fool to not have noticed the rainbow sticker that Harry has on the bag she brings to lecture.

By the time she’s walking into her usual post-lecture coffee shop after Harry doesn’t show up, she’s convinced herself that this Reddit nonsense isn’t doing her any favors, and witchery or whatever probably isn’t the answer to her problems. Maybe she’s just...sleepwalking at night. That could explain half the issues, at least. 

She’s deep in thought in line, wondering if she should take a trip back home and see the family doctor, when someone bumps into her from behind.

“Shit, sorry--” a familiar voice says, and Niall realizes it’s Harry that’s bumped into her as she turns around and steadies them both with an arm.

“It’s okay--oh, hi,” Niall says, retracting her arm quickly.

Harry glances from side to side. “Hello,” she replies warily.

The line moves ahead and Niall shuffles forward, then glances back at Harry. “I’ve never seen you here before,” she says.

“Yeah, well,” Harry shrugs. “I usually go before lecture, but, uh--”

“Right.” She didn’t show up today. Because of Niall. “About the other day--”

“Look, I don’t know what you read online but--”

“No, no,” Niall turns to face Harry, walking backwards as the line moves forward again. “I want to apologize. It was, um, super uncool of me to come at you like that. I’m just, like, going crazy and--I don’t know, sometimes I’m on Reddit for too long and get weirdly into it.”

“Sounds like it,” Harry agrees.

Niall winces. “Yeah, but I don’t want you to think I’m some kind of freak or anything--,” she pauses, “well, you probably already do, but I’m not, really. There’s just some weird shit happening at my house,” Niall shakes her head. “Doesn’t matter, but yeah, I’m sorry about the other day, is my point.”

Harry eyes Niall skeptically, then nods once. “Okay. Apology accepted.”

Niall releases the breath she’d unwittingly been holding, relaxing into a smile. “Sweet. I guess I’ll...see you in lecture, then?”

Harry nods once again. Two cashiers open up at the same time, so they part ways. When Niall receives her order, she beelines it to her usual spot in the corner which is, blissfully, somehow open. She puts her bag down on a chair at the same time someone places their drink on the table, and she looks up, ready to exercise her finders-keepers' rights, when she realizes it’s Harry who’s had the same idea of where to sit.

Harry’s blinking her big doe eyes at her in surprise, and she immediately swipes her drink back into her hand. “Sorry,” she mutters, turning away.

“Do you need the notes from today?” Niall finds herself asking before she can think twice, unzipping her backpack and pulling out her notebook. “You can copy mine if you want.”

Harry considers her offer for a moment, clutching her coffee close to her chest. Finally, she nods, and Niall gestures for her, albeit very surprised, to take the seat across from her.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, Harry scribbling away in her own notebook while Niall sips at her drink and scrolls through Twitter. She’s startled by Harry’s voice.

“Um, just out of vague curiosity and nothing else, why were you...looking that kind of thing up?” she asks, tapping her pen on the wooden table.

The expression on her face looks more than vaguely curious, but Niall shrugs. “There’s just some weird shit happening at my house that I haven’t really been able to explain. So I got kinda desperate.”

She looks back down at her phone, expecting that to be that, when Harry speaks up again. “Like what?”

Niall chews the inside of her cheek for a moment before responding. She leans forward conspiratorially in her seat to say, “Okay, it’s gonna sound weird--”

In a hushed tone, she tells Harry about all the weird, kooky things that are happening at her house, right down to the lampshades. She explains how she fell down the Reddit hole that lead her into thinking Harry was some kind of magical being walking amongst the people. 

“...so, I was thinking earlier, maybe I’m sleepwalking? Like, that doesn’t solve the flickering lights thing, but I should probably just call my electric company.”

“Probably,” Harry murmurs. She’s gone very pale and still.

“Yeah,” Niall sighs, leaning back in her seat and rhythmically kicking her feet against the legs of the table. “But sleepwalking, though. I should see my doctor. _Or..._ ” she continues, leaning forward again. “Maybe I have a squatter!”

“Maybe you do,” Harry squeaks, her hands folded tightly in front of her. She hasn’t touched her coffee in several minutes.

“That would fucking _suck_ ,” Niall groans, tossing her head back.”I mean, that’s _probably_ not it, but could be, right?”

“Right,” Harry says. She calmly picks up her coffee, takes a sip, then puts it down. She holds Niall’s gaze for another moment before folding her arms out in front of her and collapsing her head down onto them with a loud groan.

Niall blinks. “Harry?”

Harry shakes her head, face hidden in her arms. “I can’t. I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.” She pauses and lifts a finger in the air. “Well, I can. But I _shouldn’t_ ,” she mutters to herself.

“What are you talking about?”

Harry lifts her head, an errant curl falling across her forehead as she gestures dramatically at Niall. “But this is completely unprecedented! And if I don’t do something, it’s going to get worse. Ethically, I should do something.”

Niall glances around nervously. “Okay...”

Harry slowly drags both hands down her face. “However, ethically I should also do nothing, because doing something is also highly dangerous.”

Niall reaches forward and pops the lid off of Harry’s cup, taking a whiff of its contents. Nope, just smells like normal coffee.

“Okay!” Harry says, holding her arms straight towards Niall, eyes shut.

“Okay,” Niall echoes.

Harry very decisively slams her palms down on the table. “Come with me.”

Niall watches as Harry abruptly stands and begins to quickly gather her things. “Um...what?”

“Hurry up!”

“Okay, okay,” Niall mutters, putting her notebook away and zipping her backpack. She’s reaching for her coffee when Harry snatches both cups away and throws them in the nearest trash can. “Hey, I wasn’t finished with that!”

“No time!” Harry says matter-of-factly with a wave of her arm as she heads out of the cafe. Niall rushes to catch up with her.

“How close is your place?” Harry says once Niall’s joined her on the sidewalk, hands on her hips.

“My place? It’s, like, a five minute walk,” Niall replies. “But--”

“Take me there!” Harry commands. Niall turns and starts walking in the direction of where she lives, but Harry grabs her by the arm. “But don’t make it look like you’re leading me!”

“... _how_ am I supposed to do that?!”

Harry throws her head back with a groan before grabbing Niall’s hand and twining their fingers together. “Like this! Now let’s go!”

Niall resolutely does _not_ make eye contact with Harry for fear of dying of embarrassment as she briskly leads Harry to where she lives while _holding her hand_. Everytime she tries to talk Harry shushes her, so she’s left to her own thoughts as they walk. Is this a hookup? Did Niall say something at the cafe to suddenly make it a hookup? Why are they walking so fast? Is Niall’s hand sweaty? How sweaty is it?

Soon, but not soon enough, they get to Niall’s place. Niall shakily gets her keys out and unlocks the front door, Harry yelling at her to hurry up all the while. Oh my god, this is definitely a hookup and Niall is absolutely not prepared for it.

She’s mentally cataloguing when the last time she shaved her legs might’ve been, and then they’re standing in her living room, and Harry has both arms raised as she’s--chanting?

“Are you chanting?” Niall asks.

“Shhhhh,” goes Harry, and then it’s back to...yup, she’s chanting. In a language Niall has never heard in her life. She walks the perimeter of the room, spending extra time in the corners, arms never wavering from their raised position, eyes squeezed shut in concentration. The energy in the room changes--it gets colder for a moment, and then Niall feels a strange feeling pass through her that she can’t quite place. Harry finishes chanting and lowers her arms, and the feeling fades away.

Niall sits, sinking down into the cushions of her couch. She has no idea what just happened. “Um. What just happened?”

Harry sighs, blowing a curl out of her face. She places her hands on her hips and looks down squarely at Niall. “Alright, so. You were right. I’m a witch.”

Niall stands abruptly. Harry stops her with a lifted finger, and Niall slowly sinks back down to her seat. 

“ _If_ ,” she continues. “You tell a single soul--and I _will_ know--you’re going to _wish_ that all you had was a squatter. Understood?”

Niall nods quickly.

“Good.”

They hold each other’s gazes for a few moments before Niall throws both her arms in the air. “I KNEW IT!”

Harry crosses her arms. “You--”

“Tell me _everything_ ,” Niall begs, standing and going toe-to-toe with Harry, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “So you really don’t know what Reddit is? Is that how you knew Cate Blanchett was my weakness? Why did we leave the cafe so fast?”

Harry rolls her eyes and nudges Niall away with a gentle hand, circling back around the couch. “Because there are eyes and ears everywhere. We had to act at least somewhat natural. If anyone knew I was doing this...” she glances away, shuddering. “Ugh, nevermind.”

Niall decides not to point out that Harry was acting anything _but_ natural. “So...the walls?”

Harry walks over to the closest wall and runs her fingers across it. Niall swears she sees the wall actually _ripple_ , like water, but then she blinks and it’s over. “Have you ever heard the expression ‘the walls have ears?’” Harry asks.

Niall nods. She thinks she’s starting to understand, if only a very tiny bit. 

“Well,” Harry sighs. “Yours are particularly chatty.”

“My walls are...chatty?”

“‘Curse not the king even in your thoughts and curse not the wealthy in your bedchamber, for a bird of the air shall carry the voice and that which has wings shall tell the matter.’ From the midrashic compilation of Vayikra Rabba. You wouldn’t believe the things I hear pigeons say about me. Foul mouths, all of them. Ha, well, _fowl_ mouths,” Harry chuckles to herself. 

Niall gapes openly at Harry, arms hung limply at her sides. The tips of Harry’s ears go red. “Sorry, I’m kind of a nerd about the early Common Era. Anyway--,” she takes out a small, intricately carved wooden box from her bag. She holds it close to her chest, hiding the details of the carvings from Niall. “Yeah, the walls shouldn’t be a problem now. Simple silencing charm, but simple also means it won’t hold very long, so let’s be quick--your room?”

Niall startles, as if broken from a trance. “My...room?”

Harry rolls her eyes. “This is probably the work of a nasty hex. Usually placed under pillows. So...?” She raises an eyebrow expectantly.

Niall blinks rapidly, shuffling her feet as she leads them down the hallway. “Right, sorry, right. Uh, pillows...” She creaks open the door at the end of the hallway and lets Harry in after her. 

“Sorry about the, uh, mess, I wasn’t really expecting--” she begins, but Harry’s already made a beeline to the barely-made bed, grabbing her pillow and shaking it. Something falls out of the pillowcase, landing on the ground with a soft plunk.

“What the fuck?” Niall says, immediately crouching down and reaching for it, but Harry slaps her wrist, hard. “Ow, what was that for?” Niall hisses, rubbing at her wrist.

“If hexes could just be thrown in the trash, do you think I would be needing this?” Harry gestures to the tiny wooden box still clutched to her chest. Niall reckons Harry’s got a point, though she still doesn’t know what it’s for. “Now, this looks like a novice hex but just so I know, is there anyone in your life who would want to do you harm? Or, like, cause you major inconvenience, as it were?”

“Um...” Niall can't really think of anyone for a moment, then remembers, “Shawn.”

“And Shawn is...?”

“My ex-boyfriend. We broke up, like, months ago,” she says sheepishly. Then adds, because she remembers Harry’s got that face and the rainbow sticker on her bag, “I’m bisexual, though.”

“Okay,” the tips of Harry’s ears go pink again. “We don’t have much time. Stand back,” she says, and Niall obliges. She places the wooden box on the floor beside the...hex, which appears to be a tiny mesh bag filled with indiscernible herbs and stones, twisted shut at the top. It looks harmless.

“Are you sure it isn’t just potpourri,” Niall mutters. 

Harry ignores her, and begins taking items out of the wooden box. Too many items that could fit in a box that size, to be in fact: a small, clear bottle, a crystal that fit in the palm of her hand, a fat candle, and a dried bundle of sage, all placed carefully around where Harry was kneeling. “Hang on, how--” Niall begins, stopped short by Harry pinching the wick of the candle, her fingers coming away to reveal a flame. 

Niall decides to stop talking for a bit. 

Harry holds the bottle in one hand and the crystal in the other, holding them level with her face, above the candle. She closes her eyes and begins muttering again, words Niall can’t make out. An inexplicable feeling of calm washes over Niall, curling around her fingertips and slipping away as quickly as it came on. She blinks, and the bottle is filled with a grainy liquid that she can’t place the color of no matter how tightly she squints at it. 

Harry dumps the bottle out on top of the hex, the liquid somehow missing Niall’s floor entirely. Still holding the crystal in the other hand, she takes the candle and holds the flame to the hex. Niall goes to say something about maybe not setting her bedroom on fire, but then the hex is engulfed in purple flames, and a bitter smell fills the room.

“That fire is purple,” she points out dumbly.

“Of course it is,” Harry says, although something in her face looks relieved. She puts the crystal and the bottle back into the box, somehow, and shuts it.

“What’s that smell?”

Harry waves a hand dismissively and stands up. “Just the hex being pissed off. That’s what this is for,” she holds up the bundle of sage, which is now on fire too, because these are just things that happen in Niall’s room now. 

She watches Harry walk the perimeter of the room with the smoking sage, resisting the urge to apologize when she has to step over a pile of laundry on the floor in the process. “Should we put it out?” she asks.

“Put what out?”

“The purple fire,” Niall says, pointing at the burning thing on the ground, but there’s nothing there. Not even a speck of ash. “Oh.”

“You shouldn’t have any more problems from now on,” Harry says, sage disappeared. The smell, Niall notices, is gone too. Harry makes her way back to the living room, Niall trailing behind her, mind just barely keeping up.

Harry puts the box back into her bag and hoists the bag onto her shoulder, turning to Niall with a tiny exhale, like she’s just climbed a flight of stairs or something and not done actual, real-life Mary Poppins magic on Niall’s bedroom floor in the middle of the day. 

“Well, this would normally be the part where I cast a memory loss spell, but I’m not that good at those and I worry you would wake up with complete amnesia, so. Just remember what I said about not telling anyone about this.”

A voice in the back of Niall’s head screams _hello, she’s cute, do something!_ But she can only nod dumbly, hand coming up to rub the back of her neck.

“Maybe I can conjure something up at home and you’ll wake up tomorrow and think it was all just a weird dream or something--but there’s no way for me to tell, so...I guess if you need anything else taken care of, let me know?” Harry says, looking a little shy as she tucks a curl behind her ear.

_Hello!!!! Look at this cute girl standing in your living room!!!_ Niall begins to nod dumbly again, then some blessed part of her fried brain remembers her manners, and she very cleverly and charmingly says, “Uh, thanks.”

The side of Harry’s mouth quirks up, revealing a totally unfair and, frankly, immobilizing dimple. “Don’t mention it. Like, seriously, at all.”

Niall, you guessed it, nods again, and then she’s standing alone in her living room. 

Later, Niall realizes she can’t remember if Harry used the door to leave or not. She decides not to worry about it.

**

Niall’s alarm goes off on time the next morning and her steaming tea doesn’t go cold everytime she goes to drink it. 

No weird dreams. In fact, she remembers with perfect clarity what Harry had said in her living room yesterday. _If you need anything else taken care of, let me know._

**

“I think I have a garden gnome problem,” Niall says a week later, tapping Harry’s shoulder in line at the coffee shop.

Harry flinches and whirls her head around at Niall, then relaxes when she sees who it is. “Keep your voice down,” she hisses, turning back forward.

“Did you hear what I said?” Niall asks at a decidedly lower volume.

“I did. You’re going to have to be more specific,” Harry says before giving her order to the barista. Niall squeezes in beside Harry and quickly gives her own order before handing the barista enough cash for the both of them. She glances at Harry and catches the tips of her ears going pink. She allows herself one satisfied smirk before grabbing her drink and getting back to business.

“You’re right, the fact that I have garden gnomes to begin with is a problem, but,” this pulls a surprised squawk of laughter from Harry, delighting Niall to no end, “I think they’re, like, coming alive at night?” She sits down at the same table as last time, internally cheering when Harry sits down across from her.

“How so?” Harry prompts, blowing on her drink cutely.

“Well,” Niall begins listing the things she read on the haunted garden gnome thread she came across on Reddit (which was way creepier than she had imagined), “I’m hearing voices from outside at night, like little high-pitched giggles? Then, in the morning, I’ll come outside and there’s tiny little turds on my doorstep in the shape of a smiley face.”

Harry raises an eyebrow. “Are you sure those aren’t just pranks? You know, by,” she visibly shudders, “ _youths_.”

Niall just barely suppresses a giggle. “Youths--um, no, there aren’t any kids who live on my street. And this is at, like, midnight, which I’ve heard is, um...” she lowers her voice to a whisper, “the witching hour.”

Harry snorts at that, her lips curling up into a smile that Niall wants to wrap up and put in her pocket. “That one’s a myth.”

“What about broomsticks?”

“Ugh, also a myth. Okay, so you _might_ have a haunting. I can come over tomorrow, but are you able to send me a picture of the, uh, little poops on your doorstep?”

Niall feels her face drop. She hadn’t thought of this. “A picture...”

Harry sips at her drink, scrolling absentmindedly through her phone, then says, “yeah, I just wanna make sure it’s actually a smiley face and not the coat of arms of an ancient torture demon. One’s very easily mistaken for the other.”

Louis never gets a sound explanation, but when he receives an SOS from Niall, an hour later he sends her a picture of their doorstep with a bunch of tiny turds carefully photoshopped on top in the shape of a smiley face--”and make _double sure_ it’s actually a smiley face and not, um, something else,” she had said. This isn’t exactly what he’d meant when he’d told her he’d studied graphic design, but whatever.

Harry successfully exorcises all four of the garden gnomes Niall had bought two days ago, but politely declines the cup of tea Niall offers her afterwards and promptly goes on her way. Niall tries not to pout too much as she brings the garden gnomes out to the dumpster.

**

_Think there’s fairies living in my attic_

_Who is this?_

_Niall?? ????_

_U gave me ur number last time we had coffee......_

_If i remember correctly u asked me for it in case you “got possessed and couldn’t wait until coffee”_

_Semantics and also totally plausible_

_Anyway r fairies real?_

_Mmm i’m not going to answer that_

_but tell me why u think they are_

_There’s, like, glitter everywhere_

_Like fairy dust? lmao_

_And i think one of them took a bath in one of my teacups_

_Hmmmmmmmm well i would stop by tomorrow but i have to be home to sign for a package_

_A witchy package?_

_enough_

_Ok ok well i could...go over to urs?_

_And bring some of the dust duh_

_Niall_

_Harry_

_W the amount of knowledge u already aren’t supposed to have, u would’ve already been tried and executed back when non-witch laws were not as kind_

_Like in a rly gross n painful way_

_Woah_

_cool_

_So u can imagine why inviting u over to my home is a terrible n awful idea_

_Oh pleaaaaaaase??_

_Pls pls pls i’ll leave my phone in the car_

_No_

_Pls harry_

_what if the fairies shave my head while i sleep :(_

_I hate that u know that that’s entirely possible_

_WHAT_

_IT IS?_

_I WAS JOKING_

_OMG HARRY :(_

**

Harry’s house isn’t what Niall had imagined a witch’s house to look like. It’s a one-story like Niall and Louis’s, painted white on the outside with red trim. Aside from some mysteriously thriving-in-the-middle-of-winter plants on the doorstep, it looks like any other house on the street. Niall feels a little zing up her spine as she rings the doorbell, but she can’t tell whether it’s a witchy thing or just a Harry thing.

“This doesn’t look like a place where a witch would live,” Liam says behind her in polite wonder.

So, Harry hadn’t exactly said Niall wasn’t _allowed_ to bring a friend. Her exact words were ‘don’t tell anyone where you’re going,’ and technically she hadn’t. Not once had she revealed the _address_ of Harry’s house to Liam after she had accidentally blurted out ‘I have a crush on a witch’ over pizza the night before.

Liam had taken it rather well, all things considered, but then again Liam is the most agreeable person Niall has ever met. He had been more interested in hearing about all the things Niall liked about Harry (had eagerly listened to Niall wax poetic about Harry’s eyes for longer than necessary, even) than any of the actual witchy stuff.

But he had drawn the line at letting Niall go to Harry’s house by himself. “What if she likes you back but turns you into a frog so she can keep you forever? That’s what I’d do,” were his exact words.

So, Niall had just... _forgotten_ to mention to Harry that she was bringing a friend. Whatever, it’ll be fine.

“Right? But it makes sense, right? I mean, they probably don’t want to be conspicuous,” Niall replies, sticking her hands in her pockets. “Also, we probably should avoid saying the _w_ word out here. The walls have ears, y’know.”

“Oh, right, of course,” Liam says easily, nodding. Then, “I wonder if Ms. Nevins from primary was one? She was right awful, and had that nasty wart on her chin, do you remember?”

“Maybe,” Niall hums. It’s entirely possible. Harry mentioned that witches were best at hiding in plain sight. But not all witches were mean and nasty like Ms. Nevins, clearly--for example, Harry was kind and helpful and the prettiest person Niall’s ever met. Plus, the Reddit hadn’t said anything about warts.

The front door swings open and there’s Harry, with wet hair and a t-shirt and sweatpants on, looking as lovely as ever, and Niall’s heart sings. She opens her mouth to say hello but then Harry’s face turns red and she yanks both of them inside, slamming the door shut and twisting the lock shut.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” she growls, instantly whirling on Niall. They’re standing in a pretty unobtrusive living room.

“Hey, now, there’s no need to get--,” Liam starts, holding his hands up placatingly. Without looking, Harry wiggles her fingers at Liam’s face and his mouth slams shut, a zipper appearing to seal his lips. 

Niall rolls her eyes as Liam starts making sounds of awed distress and curiously poking at his newly zippered mouth. “Is that really necessary?”

“For now, yes,” Harry says, running an exasperated hand through her hair. Sparks of electricity fly as she does it. “Where did you get the idea that _bringing someone_ was an okay thing to do?!”

Niall scoffs. “I wasn’t going to, but then he was afraid you were going to turn me into a frog!”

“You--,” Harry deflates a little, blinking in confusion. “He...a frog? Why would he think that?”

For a moment, Niall is glad for the zipper currently occupying Liam’s sweet but overly honest mouth. “Uh--I don’t know, same reason I think there are fairies living in my house? It seems kinda witchy?”

Harry sighs and puts her hands on her hips. She seems less ready to cut Niall in half and more ready to slap her on the wrist. “You told him I was a witch--,”

“--accidentally, I swear!”

“And his first concern was you...turning into a frog?”

“Yes. He honestly didn’t have much to say beyond that.”

Harry gives Liam a quizzical look. “Who exactly is this?”

“This, Harry, is Liam, my best friend in the whole wide world,” Niall says with a grin, throwing her arm around Liam’s shoulders, “Liam, this is Harry.”

Liam grunts as pleasantly as one can when sporting a zipper for a mouth, giving a small wave.

“Um, nice to meet you,” Harry says, then with a start, wiggles her fingers towards Liam’s mouth. “Oops, sorry. Forgot I did that.”

The zipper disappears and Liam groans, rubbing at his jaw. “Thanks. That was, um, a weird feeling. But kind of cool!”

Harry crosses her arms, remaining unimpressed. “So, Liam--you don’t have the urge to...tell people about me?”

“Oh, god, no!” Liam gasps. “That would be extremely rude.”

“Right...even though I zippered your mouth shut just now?”

Liam places his hand on his heart. “Oh, no--you’re probably very protective of your identity. And you should be! I would’ve done the same thing,” he says, nodding emphatically.

Harry raises her eyebrows at Niall, who shrugs as if to say, _that’s Liam for you_. 

“Fine,” Harry sighs, then jabs a finger in Niall’s face, “but no more friends!”

“Okay, okay, deal,” Niall says, Liam softly going “yaaay” beside her.

Harry rolls her eyes but The Dimple makes a small appearance, and Niall cheers internally. “Well, come in then,” Harry says, and then claps her hands together and--

“Woaaaaaah,” Liam and Niall say in unison.

What was once an unobtrusive living room suddenly becomes a most definitely witchy kind of living room. Dried bundles of every herb Niall can name and then some hang from the ceiling, along with various chimes made out of crystals. Luxurious looking rugs overlap each other on the floor, beneath comfy-looking sofas and bean bag chairs. A glass coffee table sits among them, stockpiled with candles and other crystals. Shelves of spices line one wall, a giant pentagram tapestry on another. More candles float in the air, and Harry pinches them to light as she leads them to the sofas.

They plop down comfortably, Liam and Niall sharing one couch while Harry stretches out languidly on another. Niall tries not to stare too much at the way her toes wiggle cutely in the air or at the hint of collarbone peeking out from her shirt. It’s very much a problem just how cuddly and inviting Harry looks at any given moment.

“Tea?” Harry offers, breaking Niall from her trance. Upon their _yes, please_ ’s, Harry waves a hand and three steaming tea cups come floating in from the direction of what Niall assumes to be the kitchen. They land perfectly on the glass table, welcomed by Niall’s “holy shit” and Liam’s polite “thank you, and hello there, tea cups.”

“So,” Harry yawns, blowing on her tea, “the alleged fairy dust?”

“What fa--oh, right,” Niall says, elbowing Liam, “show her, Li.”

Liam dutifully takes off his backpack and unzips the smallest pocket. Harry snickers. 

“What?”

“It’s definitely not fairy dust,” Harry giggles, “because if that’s been on your back the whole time, you would’ve already grown wings and flown away by now.”

_Dammit_ , Niall thinks. Reddit has failed her this time.

Liam, who knows full well that the baggie he’s just handed to Harry is filled with nothing but glitter they bought at the dollar store on the way, gasps, “Oh--I haven’t, have I? You’d tell me if I had wings, right Nialler?” and wriggles around on the couch, trying to look at his back.

“No, Liam, you haven’t got wings,” Niall sighs, reaching one arm out to stop him. “It must just be glitter leftover from when Louis’s sisters visited last,” she says to Harry, trying not to look too forlorn at the inevitability of Harry making them leave now that they’ve solved the ‘fairy dust’ problem. She bets Harry’s opening her mouth to say just that, when--

A sleek, black cat appears on Harry’s shoulder. It stares menacingly at Niall, then at Harry.

“Ugh, don’t look at me like that,” Harry groans, bopping it on its nose, “I thought you weren’t home.”

“Ooh, a kitty!” Liam gasps, instantly making grabby hands at the cat, who eagerly pads over upon noticing Liam. 

Niall grins at Harry. “Soooo, the black cat thing is...”

“A myth,” Harry rolls her eyes, reaching her foot out to nudge Niall reproachingly. “This is just an unfortunate coincidence.”

“Right, right,” Niall widens her grin to shit-eating levels until Harry’s ears go pink and her dimples give her away. She breaks Niall’s gaze and instantly scoffs, “oh, here we go.”

Niall turns her head and sees Liam cuddling up Harry’s cat like no tomorrow, giving it little kisses on the head as it nuzzles Liam’s chin and kneads its paws on his chest. Niall can hear it purring all the way from the other end of the sofa. 

“Niall, look, Harry’s cat likes me!” Liam says proudly, lighting up the room with his smile, as Liam does.

“You are incorrigible,” Harry says to the cat, narrowing her eyes. The cat just glares at Harry--Niall isn’t sure she’s ever seen a cat truly glare before--and purrs louder as Liam scratches between its ears.

“Well, Liam’s not gonna wanna leave anytime soon,” Niall realizes, relaxing back into the sofa with a satisfied smirk. Harry crosses her arms but the corner of her mouth quirks up, eliciting a grin from Niall. “I noticed _that_ over there...”

Harry looks over to where Niall’s pointing, at an old timey-looking, pointy hat sitting on the mantle of Harry’s honest-to-god fireplace. She blushes fiercely. “That’s--okay, the hat thing isn’t necessarily...” she turns back to Niall but avoids her gaze, “the hat thing was, like, a pre-Bubonic Plague thing...I just...bought that at a Halloween store ‘cause I...thought it would be funny?”

“Oh, it’s funny,” Niall giggles, “but not in the way you think it is, probably.”

Harry pouts and throws a pillow in Niall’s direction, and Niall dodges it except for the fact that it simply follows wherever Niall moves her head until it hits her squarely in the face with a soft _bonk_. “Heyyyyy,” Niall whines, “no using magic in pillow fights!” She tosses her own pillow at Harry, who dodges it with ease and promptly sticks her tongue out at Niall.

Niall is a goner, but we knew this.

Liam is too, apparently, cooing incoherently at the cat as it laps its tiny pink tongue at Liam’s fingers. They’ve got loads of time before Liam will be able to rip himself away from this cat--this wonderful, perfectly timed cat who has suddenly given Niall an excuse to spend more time with Harry than just a few minutes, for once.

“Alright, Harry,” Niall says, settling in comfortably, “what other stuff about witches is fake?”

**

“So all these people were dying, right? Like, getting burned at the stake and getting drowned and crushed to death--”

“But none of them were _actual_ witches?”

“Right,” Harry says, nodding emphatically. “The real ones were too smart to get caught.”

“But now Reddit exists.”

Harry rolls her eyes but ignores Niall beyond that. “So all these innocent people were dying, and the Council back then was like, we are a danger to non-magic users, blah blah, long story short all witches basically went into hiding, like, from each other so that there was less risk of any being found out,” Harry pauses to sip her tea, “and it was only supposed to be until the Salem shit died down, but it’s like they all just kind of...forgot about each other. It wasn’t until the early 1900s when a new Council formed that there started to be any kind of community again.”

“Wow,” Niall whistles, leaning forward as Harry turns another page in the huge, ancient-as-fuck looking book she had summoned from another part of the house. So far, it had mostly been filled with scriptures, runes and sigils that Niall couldn’t even try and read, but apparently depicted a history of witchcraft, and decidedly “was not a spellbook,” according to Harry. This new page Harry has turned has the first actual photo Niall’s seen: a washed-out, black-and-white photo of five finely-dressed women against a plain backdrop.

“This is that new Council, then?” 

Harry nods.

“What is it, anyway?”

“The Council? Basically witch royalty,” Harry says, “It’s just five witches who basically make big decisions for everyone when it’s needed. They act as judges, too--like the supremest of supreme courts,” Harry tucks her legs underneath her, “it’s supposed to be the matriarchs of the five main covens, which have mostly just become five huge families at this point, so it’s honestly more political inter-family drama than anything nowadays. I don’t pay much attention to it.”

“Hmm,” Niall says, “sounds like a soap opera.” She squints at the caption of the photo, then widens her eyes and jabs a finger at it. “Hang on, does that say Styles?”

“Ummmmmm,” Harry says, trying to turn the page. But it does, the caption lists: _Isabelle Pinnock, Zoena Edwards, Odette Nelson, Serafina Thirlwall,_ and _Regina Styles_.

“Styles is your last name, isn’t it?” The women in the photo are holding pointy hats in their hands. Niall glances at the hat on the mantle. ‘Pre-Bubonic Plague’ her ass.

“Ummm...”

“Harry--are you witch royalty?!”

“Oh, look, the cat’s awake!” Harry says, slamming the book shut and leaping up to her feet.

Niall looks and the cat is indeed stretching languidly in Liam’s lap, blinking awake. It squints at Harry, allowing her to pick it up and place it on the ground, where it starts washing itself. Liam’s head is tipped back, mouth wide open as he snores softly. “Liam, buddy,” Niall says, shaking his shoulder.

Liam awakens with a sputter, flapping his hands around until he remembers where he is. He pats his now empty lap. “Aw, where’s the kitty?” he pouts.

“He’s right there, Li,” Niall says, pointing at the cat.

“Aw,” Liam says around a yawn, rising to his feet and stretching his arms above his head. “C’mere, kitty witty,” he coos, waggling his fingers at the cat, who trots over and winds its body around Liam’s legs, purring again. “Helloooooo. Harry, what did you say your cat’s name was?”

“I didn’t,” Harry says, giving the cat an unimpressed look. “It’s Zayn.”

A sizzling sound fills the room, and suddenly Harry’s cat is getting taller, and taller, and less furry, and then there’s a gorgeous, shirtless man standing where the cat was.

There’s a brief silence.

“Okay, what the fuck?!” Niall says, leaping to her feet.

“Uhhhhh?” Liam says.

“He’s my flatmate,” Harry’s rolling her eyes again. “He thinks he’s funny, pretending to be my _familiar_ or some shit, even though that’s been out of vogue since the 1700s.”

“Hi, I’m Zayn,” the cat--Zayn--says to Liam.

Liam, who is no doubt remembering how much he kissed, cuddled, and was kissed and cuddled in return by Zayn over the past hour, turns beet red, darting his eyes everywhere around the room except Zayn’s sinewy limbs and the delicate V of his hips. 

“Um, ah, I--I--uh, Liam,” he says very eloquently.

“Hi, Liam,” Zayn says, smiling slowly. He brushes a hand down Liam’s arm. “You’re really fit. And we have great napping chemistry.”

“Oh,” Liam squeaks.

“Well, I guess you two should be going,” Harry says. Niall’s brain yells _nooooo_ because they had just been sitting so nice and comfy together on the couch, but even she can see that this might be a bit of a magic overload for Liam. Especially since Zayn appears to be completely and 100% Liam’s Type.

“C’mon, Li,” Niall gently takes a stunned Liam by the bicep and leads him towards the door. “See ya, Haz.”

“I...but...”

“Bye, Liam,” Zayn purrs, in a human way, “Call me.”

Liam grips reality at that, stopping short. “You didn’t give me your number!”

Zayn smiles. “Yes, I did.”

“No, you--,” Liam looks down at the folded piece of paper that he’s suddenly holding. “Oh.”

Liam looks like he’s about to faint, but he clutches the paper dutifully to his chest, giving a dazed wave as Niall gets them through the door.

**

_Was there a famous witch named hazel_

_It’s 11pm_

_I can tell time_

_So was there?_

_Why_

_Cuz like if witch hazel is a thing i assume there must’ve been a witch...hazel_

_Ur insufferable_

_:D_

_So am i right_

_No actually_

_Hmmm_

_Oh ok i googled it_

_“WITCH HAZEL is a botanical astringent from the plant Hamamelis virginiana. The wipes and pads are used to relieve itching, burning, and irritation caused by hemorrhoids or bowel movements. They may also be used to clean the outer vaginal area after childbirth or the rectal area following rectal surgery.”_

_Gross_

_“The name Witch in witch-hazel has its origins in Middle English wiche, from the Old English wice, meaning "pliant" or "bendable".”_

_It’s amazing what the internet can do for you_

_And u don’t even have to bother ur friend at bedtime_

_Would’ve been cooler for me if u had just made up some story about a witch named hazel_

_Bedtime?? It is 11 o'clock_

_I have to be in bed by the witching hour or else i’ll start craving the blood of children :/_

_Hahaha_

_Wait ur kidding right_

_Haz_

_...hazza_

_Thought u said the witching hour was a myth?!_

_Harry_

_Goodnight niall_

_;)_

**

“I don’t understand why you can’t just ask her out.”

“Because!”

“Because?”

“Because...” Niall sighs, playing with the zipper of her sweatshirt as she leans back against Liam’s fridge. “You say it like it’s easy.”

“Well, isn’t it?” Liam says, handing Niall a steaming mug. “I mean, isn’t it easier than making up all this fake magic stuff just so you can see her?”

Niall looks out the window, resolutely watching droplets of rain stream down the glass pane. “I mean, in a way, no? I’m not even sure if she actually likes me or just merely tolerates me for the sake of helping me out. Like, maybe she feels bad for me or something.”

She doesn’t know if she could handle the embarrassment if she were to ask Harry out for real and had to watch Harry’s attempt to let her down easy--doesn’t know if she could handle seeing Harry’s tongue-in-cheek sarcasm turn into sweet pity right before her eyes as she tells Niall their relationship is merely a charitable one and nothing more.

And who’s to say Harry’s single in the first place? She probably has witches and warlocks (Zayn’s people, she’s learned) knocking down her door for a chance to woo her. She’s apparently witch royalty, after all--she probably has hordes of powerful, beautiful people coming into her life at any given moment.

Niall’s just--Niall. Regular, non-magic Niall with nothing to offer but a big, embarrassing crush.

She tells Liam as much and he scoffs. “Magic isn’t everything,” he says, as if either of them know anything about the subject. “Harry doesn’t seem like the kind of person who’s interested in all that...pomp and circumstance.”

Niall giggles at _pomp and circumstance_. “Maybe not, but...she deserves someone special. Someone who can like, bring her a rock from the moon or like, conjure a flower in their hand just to make her smile.”

Liam frowns, placing his mug down on the table a little harder than he probably meant to. “Who says you’re not special? You’re perfectly capable of running to a florist!”

“Thanks, Liam,” Niall laughs again, sipping at her tea thoughtfully. Maybe she’ll gather the courage one day to do it, just...not today. “Hey, this is really good--do you have any biscuits?” she asks, placing her mug down to start rummaging through Liam’s cabinets.

Liam abruptly stands from the table, suddenly nervous. “Um, I don’t think--”

“Oh, come on, Liam, if we’re friends you need to have a supply of biscuits ready at any moment’s notice,” Niall sing-songs, opening one cabinet and closing it upon finding only cups and plates inside. “You should know this by now.”

“We can go to the store!” Liam chirps, wringing his hands together. “We can go to the store right now, just--”

“Here they are!” Niall cries triumphantly, finally spotting a box towards the back of the next cabinet. “Oh, it’s the good kind too, maybe that’s why you--” she stops when she reaches in and feels something decidedly furry brush up against her arm.

Liam freezes.

“Liam...” Niall murmurs, retracting her arm. “Why is there--” a thought appears, and she quickly starts tossing various items out of Liam’s cabinet.

“Niall, wait...”

Niall pushes aside a bag of tortilla chips and is face-to-face with a black cat.

To be specific, Zayn.

“You!” Niall gasps, sticking her finger in his face, which he promptly bats away with an unimpressed paw. She whirls on Liam, bringing her finger with her. “You!”

Liam is red all over, both hands covering his face. “I can explain!”

“No need,” Niall huffs, placing her hands on her hips. She thinks back to how Liam had rushed to put a shirt on and disappeared into his room when she had barged into his apartment earlier. “I can very clearly see what’s going on!”

“It’s not like that!” Liam protests, squirming where he stands.

“It’s very much like that,” Zayn’s voice arrives, and Niall turns to see that he’s reverted to his shirtless, human self, sat on the counter and scratching at his belly languidly with a satisfied smirk.

Liam lets out a sound of distress, pouting spectacularly. “Who asked you, anyway?”

Niall rolls her eyes. “Liam, it’s fine. I’m happy you’re boning Harry’s cat-warlock-flatmate,” she shakes her head at what must’ve been the weirdest sentence of all time, then waves vaguely in Zayn’s direction. “I mean, I have eyes.”

“Yeah,” Liam sighs to himself, eyes raking over Zayn’s body appreciatively, who winks.

“I just wish you’d have told me he was here before I, y’know...” Niall looks askance. “Talked about....stuff.”

“Oh, don’t worry Niall, I won’t tell her,” Zayn says, hopping down from the counter to wrap his arms around Liam and tuck his head between his neck and shoulder. Liam blushes and reveals a tiny smile. “Truthfully, Harry doesn’t talk to me much about anything, so I can’t help you as far as her feelings go. She is single, at least.”

He waves a hand and Niall’s mug floats from where it sat cold on the counter and into her hands, beginning to steam again. “However, I do have an idea.”

Niall perks her head up. “I’m listening.”

**

“I’m not sure if this is really going to work,” Liam grumbles from his perch on the bathroom counter.

“Hush, you look ravishing,” Zayn says from between Liam’s legs, both hands raised as makeup brushes and sponges circulate the air around Liam’s head.

Niall pauses from her spot on the floor, where she’s cutting holes into one of Liam’s shirts. “You haven’t even put anything on him yet,” she points out.

Zayn blinks slowly. “I said what I said.”

Several hours later, Niall is hiding in the bushes outside her house, Zayn-as-a-cat crouched beside her. A bright, full moon shines overhead, filtering through the leaves and making Zayn’s eyes glow. Or maybe that’s just how Zayn’s eyes are.

In the distance, she can hear Harry shouting various incantations in languages Niall doesn’t understand, mixed in with the warbled howling Liam had perfected with Zayn’s guidance earlier.

“She’s not actually gonna hurt him though, right?” Niall asks for the thousandth time, picking at a loose thread in her sweater.

_Like I said before, these spells only cause harm to actual werewolves, and Harry wouldn’t dare try to touch one either. The real ones have rabies and such_ , Zayn’s voice enters Niall’s head.

Right, so. It turns out Zayn-as-a-cat can’t speak, but can communicate telepathically.

“Not to mention, uh, they bite?” Niall adds.

_That too,_ Zayn says, flicking his tail back and forth. _By the way, if by chance she does hurt my Liam, I’m putting a thousand year curse on you and your family. Just an FYI._

“Me?! This was _your_ idea!” Niall sputters, looking down at Zayn incredulously.

Zayn narrows his eyes. _Semantics. Someone would have to be blamed, and I obviously can’t curse Harry._

“Obviously,” Niall groans and runs a hand over her face. “Great. Amazing. This is just my life now. I’m hiding in the bushes being cursed by a cat while my best friend runs around pretending to be a werewolf because I have a crush on a witch.”

Zayn’s whiskers twitch, as if the fucker is laughing at Niall. _You do realize all this smoke and mirror nonsense wouldn’t be necessary if you just asked Harry herself about her feelings._

“What the--again, this was _your idea_!” Niall argues, crossing her arms over her chest.

_Yes, but maybe my objective was to convince you of this fact the entire time, rather than to actually enable this silly game you play._

At this point, Niall is so mentally drained from the conversation that she just sighs in defeat, reaching down to scratch Zayn between the ears. “You sure have a funny way of expressing yourself, Z.”

Zayn growls and bats Niall’s hand away. _I only let my Liam do that. Now hush, here comes Harry._

“I don’t hear any--” Niall starts, but then she does hear the faint sound of footsteps in the grass, and remembers Zayn has literal catlike hearing. Because he’s a--well, you know.

“...can’t believe you would pull something like this, Liam. I thought you were a little more sensible than that!” Harry’s angry voice comes closer and closer, and Niall deposits herself from the bushes so as to look like she’s just come out of her house to investigate.

“Ow--I’m sorry, Harry, can you please just--ow, ow, _ow_ ,” comes Liam’s voice.

Harry comes around the corner of Niall’s house first, scowling with a bundle of sage in one hand, the other hand held behind her with a crooked finger. Trailing behind her is Liam, sporting his werewolf guise that Niall and Zayn had so meticulously created: blood-matted fur attached to his face and arms, yellow contacts, sharp fangs, and holes cut into his shirt and jeans, with more fur sprouting from them. 

Honestly, even though Zayn did most of the work (well, magic), it looks pretty damn realistic in Niall’s opinion, considering she’s never seen a real werewolf in person. Apparently, they look like that.

Liam’s expression is pained though, and as he approaches Niall realizes that he’s being pulled by an invisible force--by the ear, if the faux-clawed hand he has pressed to it as he stumbles along is anything to go by.

“Haz, what’s going on?” Niall asks, adding the distressed lilt she’d used when she’d called Harry an hour ago about a _full moon_ and _an_ _unusually hairy man outside her window_.

“Nothing, apparently,” Harry grumbles, pulling Liam along. “Your friend here thought this would be a funny prank.”

“Whaaaaat?” Niall gasps, reciting the lines she’d practiced earlier. “Not _my_ Liam!”

Harry rolls her eyes. “Yes, _your_ Liam.”

“I swear I didn’t know they were actually real! I figured when Niall called you, you’d laugh and hang up on her and that would be it!” Liam wails, struggling against the magical hold Harry has on his ear. “I didn’t think you’d actually come and try to exorcise me or whatever!”

_He really is such a good actor, so talented_ , Zayn coos into Niall’s mind from his hiding spot in the bushes.

“Smite you, I tried to _smite_ you, Liam,” Harry corrects him as she finally reaches Niall. “You’re lucky I was only using lupine curses. I could’ve really hurt you.”

“Well, it was just a prank and no one got hurt and I forgive you Liam,” Niall recites quickly. Harry turns to Niall and Liam takes the opportunity to give Niall an enthusiastic thumbs up while her back is turned. “Anyway, now that we’re all here, why don’t we, uh, watch a movie or something?” she grins, placing her hands behind her back.

Harry sighs in exasperation, snapping her fingers and releasing Liam, who nearly topples forward in relief, rubbing gently at his ear. “Fine, but only because that wore me out and because I know your pillows are soft. And _only_ if we can watch _Love, Actually_.”

“Your wish is my command,” Niall gives a salute and a wink, gesturing for Harry to go inside, who rolls her eyes but acquiesces. Niall sticks her tongue out at the bushes and follows her.

True to the plan, ten minutes later Liam “remembers” he has plans with Zayn, and leaves Niall with Harry all to herself. Harry raises an eyebrow as Liam shuts the door behind himself, but if she suspects anything, she doesn’t say so. Niall presses play on _Love, Actually_ and settles in next to Harry as close as she can without it being creepy, gleefully throwing her plushest blanket over their legs.

She resolutely does not think about what Zayn said to her in the bushes.

**

Niall and Harry hanging out becomes more of a thing, and Niall leaves her Reddit app unopened for a few weeks, no longer needing to make up elaborate fake-magical excuses to see her. 

They sit next to each other in lecture, and Niall gets to bear witness to Harry’s uncharacteristically messy handwriting, accompanied by the cute way she chews on her pencil erasers. They study together, Harry’s magic keeping their tea the perfect temperature while cat-Zayn curls up between them. 

Harry tells Niall more about the witching world, albeit reluctantly, and in turn Niall divulges Kardashian family trivia which, according to Harry, goes unmatched to anything in any common spellbook.

Before they know it, they’ve actually become friends--no matter that every brush of an arm sends Niall’s head in a spin, or that she counts every smile thrown her way a small victory. 

At this point, Niall’s nearly lost all hope as far as her feelings for Harry go--the more Harry tells her about her world, the more inferior it makes Niall feel in comparison. Harry deserves her name written in the stars. The most Niall can offer her is a shoddy flat with soft pillows. And a dumpster full of garden gnomes.

They’re walking to their coffee shop one particularly cold day, hands shoved into their pockets, elbows brushing periodically, when Harry trails to a stop and practically presses her nose into the glass window of the shop to their left.

It’s a florist’s shop. A kaleidoscope of flowers line the window, looking soft and delicate under the fluorescent lights. Their petals glisten with droplets of water, and they bring a bit of cheer to the otherwise gloomy-looking day.

“Which one’s your favorite?” Niall asks, feeling the corners of her mouth quirk up as she observes the childlike roundness to Harry’s eyes.

Harry shrugs, not removing her face from where her breath is starting to fog up the glass. “I don’t have one, really. I think they’re all neat.”

Niall huffs out a laugh. _Neat_. 

“Well, I’m sure you could have flowers anytime you wanted, just,” she waves her hand around in what she hopes is a magical-looking way, “poof. All the flowers you could ever want, at the tips of your fingers.”

Harry hums. “You’re right, I could. But there’s just something about the real thing, you know? A real-life flower, grown from roots in the earth and not just a wave of my hand. They’re special. They have meaning.”

Niall is frozen. “Oh.”

Harry turns to Niall, smiling so serenely it makes Niall’s breath hitch. “I like them better this way,” she says before turning on her heel and continuing down the sidewalk towards the coffee place.

Niall stares at the flower shop display for a few long seconds before running to catch up with Harry.

**

The next day, Niall returns home with a spring in her step until she gets to her doorstep and remembers very, very much too late that she had meant to cancel a recent online purchase.

She fires off a quick text to Liam: _how well-versed are you in pet store returns?_

_Nialler no!!!! I don’t want to know this time_

**

“I told you I didn’t want to know this time,” Liam says forlornly, hours later. “Why did you even open the box?”

“That’s what Zayn said to do when I texted him!” Niall argues.

“I was clearly joking,” Zayn drones. “I too often forget how you non-magics can’t seem to process sarcasm correctly--not you, babe,” he says to a pouting Liam, who’s currently standing on top of Niall’s couch in an attempt to not squish them.

The crickets, that is. The hundreds of loose crickets currently swarming Niall’s living room.

Weeks ago, while _tastefully_ drunk, Niall had formulated her biggest, most extravagant plan yet to win precious quality time with Harry, and it had brilliantly required only one ingredient. Because what person has a bunch of crickets in their house for non-magic, non-reptile related purposes? Certainly not Niall, which is where Harry theoretically would’ve come in.

Unfortunately, the thing about Niall’s brilliant ideas that she formulates while _tastefully_ drunk is that she forgets to realize in the morning that they’re actually bad ideas.

And to cancel any and all purchases made from _lizardfoodonline.com_. 

So, now she has crickets all over her house. Chirping, and hopping everywhere, and being general nuisances all around.

“Okay then, now that we’ve established how so _very_ helpful of a friend Zayn is, what do we do now?” Niall huffs from her stance on top of the armchair.

“We could eat them,” Zayn suggests, eyes flashing. He takes a moment to read the room. He’s the only one not standing, instead choosing to sit normally on the couch and rest his head languidly against Liam’s leg as crickets hop around his feet. “Well, _I_ could eat them. Not all of them, though. I have to keep _some_ semblance of my figure in order to impress my man,” he adds. “They’re also quite high in cholesterol.”

Liam blushes. “If anything, _I_ should be the one keeping the...assembly to impress _my_ man!”

“It’s semblance, dear, but on the contrary--”

“Hey, could we maybe, like, focus?” Niall snaps, leaning her weight on the back of the arm chair. “I think we should--”

The doorbell rings.

The three of them freeze. They look at each other.

Then, from outside, “Niall?”

“Oh god, it’s Harry,” Niall gasps, slapping her hand to her forehead. “I completely forgot she was coming over to watch old episodes of _Teen Mom_ with me!”

“Excellent choice--”

“And that’s my cue! Come along Liam,” Zayn announces before promptly dissolving into cat mode. He darts out the back door, a panicked Liam trailing gingerly behind him as he narrowly misses stray crickets. 

“Guys, no! Wait, please--” Niall begs as the doorbell rings again.

“Niall? Hellooo?” Harry calls again.

“Sorry, Niall!” Liam whisper-shouts as he quickly shuts the door behind him.

_Perhaps it’s time to face the music instead of hiding behind boxes of crickets_ , enters Zayn’s voice into Niall’s head.

“Again, not helpful!” Niall whisper-screeches.

There’s not much time to think--okay, she’ll just stay really still and quiet until Harry gives up and--

“Niall?” Harry says again, opening the front door. Oh, right, Niall had forgotten to lock the door behind her. “Where are--what the fuck?!”

Niall grins and outstretches her arms from the same spot on the armchair as Harry turns the corner and stops short at the scene before her. “Surpriiiise...?” she tries.

“Hello?! What the hell is going on here?” Harry shrieks, rising up on her tiptoes and holding her bag in front of her like a shield. “Why are all these crickets in here?!”

“Um...” 

Niall has two choices. She can make up some lie about how she must’ve accidentally touched a cursed necklace at the flea market last weekend, have Harry poof them away, turn on _Teen Mom_ , and live another day.

Or...she can finally face the music and stop hiding behind boxes of crickets, and garden gnomes, and glitter.

She sighs in defeat, letting her arms down. “Okay, hold on. Don’t move.”

“Wasn’t planning on it,” Harry quips as Niall carefully climbs down from the armchair and tiptoes to her room.

She comes back with a heavy book. “What’s that?” Harry asks. Niall hands it to her sheepishly.

“ _The Midrash_ ,” Harry reads the cover aloud. “Hang on, is this--”

“The first time you came over, you talked about the...Vayikra Rabba, I think?” Niall says, looking down at her feet. One brave cricket has found its way to a perch on her toes.

“Your walls were chatty...” Harry remembers.

Niall chuckles. “Yeah, well. I had no idea what you were talking about, and and I wanted to, because you just seemed so _interesting_ , witch or no. So, the day after you got rid of the hex I tracked down an English translated copy at some bookstore, like, twenty minutes away--still can’t understand any of it, but. Anyway,” she nods her head towards the book, “look inside the front cover.”

Harry opens the front cover. A dried dandelion lies pressed between the hardcover and the rest of the pages. Harry gingerly fingers it out and holds it up to the light, a curious smile on her face.

“Was using it as a bookmark--or, well, I was gonna, but. Anyway, I remembered what you said about flowers the other day, so. I thought you’d might like to have it. The book, too, if you want,” Niall glances down at the ground again.

“Oh,” Harry blushes fiercely, putting the flower back and holding the book tightly to her chest. “Thank you, Niall.”

Niall grins nervously. “You’re welcome. I know you said you’re uh, a nerd about the early Common Era.”

Harry beams. “You remembered.”

“‘Course. I remember everything about you, Harry.”

Another smile. Then, a brief silence. Well, some chirping. But otherwise: silent.

“But...what about the crickets?”

Niall blinks. “The what?”

“The crickets,” Harry gestures around the room.

Right.

“Right, so, um,” Niall scratches the back of her head. “I have a few confessions to make.”

Harry arches an eyebrow. “A few?”

“Yeah...” Niall sighs. “Remember how, uh, I had the haunted garden gnomes? And the fairy dust? And how Liam tricked you into thinking he was a werewolf?”

“He absolutely did not trick me, but go on.”

“You see, those were all...fake.”

Harry squints. “Fake?”

“Yes, fake. I bought the garden gnomes at Big Lots--”

“Oh, love that place.”

“I know you do. The fairy dust was glitter we bought on the way to your house. The Liam thing was my idea,” she pauses, “Well, it was Zayn’s idea, but it was supposed to get me to realize how dumb I was being.” Niall stares at the ground again.

“And the crickets too?”

“And the crickets too,” Niall groans. “In my defense, though, I completely forgot about ordering the crickets. I was drunk.”

Harry shakes her head, perplexed. Oh god, she must be angry. “But...why?”

Niall takes a deep breath, and looks directly into Harry’s narrowed eyes, and very bravely so. “Because I wanted an excuse to spend more time with you. Because...I like you. A lot. In a very non-platonic way. And I was too nervous to just ask you up front because I’m super insecure about being, like, non-magical. ‘Cause, like, there’s not much I can give you that you don’t already have,” she chickens out and looks down at the ground again, playing with the hem of her shirt. 

“Anyway, I totally understand if you’re pissed and don’t wanna see me anymore, ‘cause that was stupid of me. I mean, it would be cool if you helped me get rid of the crickets before you go, but--”

“Oh, Niall,” Harry interrupts with an eye roll, crossing her arms over the book. Niall looks up and faces Harry’s scowling face, holding her breath and expecting the worst. Maybe turning into a toad wouldn’t be so bad, right? She could get rid of the crickets easier that way.

Then Harry cracks a beautiful, glorious smile and Niall is all types of confused. “I kind of already knew all that,” Harry says.

Niall’s jaw drops. “You _what_?!”

“Okay, maybe not _totally knew_ , but--Zayn dropped a few hints and I had a feeling,” Harry grins, shrugging sheepishly. “Also, the crickets told me everything as soon as I walked in.”

Um, traitors? Niall has a half a mind to stomp them all out. However, there are more pressing things at hand.

“So--so--so--,” Niall blabbers. “Why didn’t you say anything? If you knew?”

Harry bites her lip and glances around shyly. “Because...okay, I might be magical and all, but that doesn’t make me any less nervous to ask out the girl I like. Maybe I needed the excuse just as much as you did.”

Niall does a real-life double take. “You--you like me?”

Harry nods, blushing.

“In a non-platonic way?!”

“Very,” Harry nods again.

“Even...even though I’m not magical?” Niall asks.

Harry furrows her eyebrows. She resolutely takes Niall by the hand and leads them over to the sofa, sitting her down. Niall’s heart is pounding.

“Niall, no one’s ever gone through this much effort just to hang out with me. I’ve had dumb warlocks sent by my mother try and woo me by, like, bringing me baby elephants and shit, but that’s just easy, lazy magic,” she says. “You actually care about what makes _me_ happy,” she squeezes the book happily. “That’s worth more to me than any spell. I like _you_.”

The clouds scatter. The sun shines. The skies clear. World peace is restored. People around the world stand and applaud. Ariana Grande smiles.

“Wow,” Niall sighs, relieved, hands resting on her knees. “That is...so great. Wow. Oh!” She scooches forward and gently takes the book from Harry’s hands, carefully placing it on the coffee table so as to not squish any crickets. “So, this probably means I should ask you out.”

“Well, _someone’s_ got to,” Harry says with a smirk, and Niall can’t believe her luck.

Niall takes Harry’s hands in hers, rubbing her thumbs along the back to calm her nerves more than anything else (also, Harry has concerningly soft skin). She loudly clears her throat. “Harry, would you do me the honor of--”

Harry rushes forward then and catches Niall’s mouth in hers, squeezing her hands tightly.

Global warming ceases. Rainbows appear. Ariana Grande smiles again.

Harry slowly leans away and winces. “Erm. Sorry. Guess I should’ve waited for you to finish.”

Niall has reached nirvana. “No, no, no, no,” she says, pulling Harry in by the waist. “Date, yes, can’t wait, blah blah, we get the point, now kiss me again.”

Harry beams as Niall breaks the distance between them again, pressing their lips together sweetly and curling her own hand around Niall’s back.

She’s no expert, but this, Niall thinks, is better than magic.

**

They’re still kissing when the door bursts open and they hear the sound of a suitcase hitting the ground, followed by a gratuitous shriek.

They reluctantly part and see that Louis, poor, dear Louis, back early from holiday, is standing in the living room, aghast.

“What in the _fuck_ is all _this_?!” he shouts, gesturing wildly at the--oh, right, the crickets thing. He spots Harry. “And who are _you_?”

“I’m Harry,” she says, snapping her fingers once. The crickets disappear immediately. “Who are you?”

“Harry, this is my flatmate, Louis,” Niall says, snaking an arm around Harry’s waist.

“Louis, this is Harry. She’s a witch. We’re dating now.” Harry hums happily in response.

This new normal might be a little harder for Louis to process, Niall realizes, as Louis promptly faints on the spot. That’s more of a Liam thing to do, but it’s all good.

Harry and Niall will take care of it. Together.

**

The End

 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! kudos and comments always appreciated x
> 
> reblog the [tumblr post](http://haroldtea.tumblr.com/post/182593510814/she-held-me-spellbound-in-the-night-by)


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